Tuesday 11th October 2022
Today we were flying to Cambodia, so not a huge amount to write about.
Obviously the most important thing on our mind was food, so we had an early lunch at ผัดไทยนานา (it didn’t seem to have an English name), one of these unassuming little restaurants that did pretty much pad Thai and nothing else. Unsurprisingly, it was good pad Thai!
Got a Grab to the airport, and then spent some of the generous time we’d allowed making use of the free weighing scales. Air Asia only has a 7kg limit for carry on luggage, which isn’t much when you’re travelling for 5 months! So began the puzzle of seeing what we could fit in various pockets to get below that. We just about managed it – although it did involve both of us wearing our coats and tying our hoodies around our waists, plus some very over stuffed pockets! They didn’t actually weight the bags in the end, possibly the very short turn around didn’t allow enough time. Better safe than sorry though.
I knew it was the rainy season in Cambodia, and had read that Siem Reap can flood in October. So I was slightly concerned when all I could see out of the plane window was flooded fields as we flew over Cambodia – and this was as we’d started the descent to land at the airport.
Fortunately the airport itself was on dry land. Went through passport control easy enough, although I was a bit worried as on the flight Pete had read through our visas and noticed we were meant to print them out – ooops, too late now. Fortunately it wasn’t an issue.
We grab a taxi using the Grab app, then check into our hotel as begins to rain, hard. Perfect timing! We were staying at the Angkor Rithy Residence. It’s a gorgeous building, and the room was huge) as was the bathroom – all for £13 a night, bargain! They also provide free transfer from the airport, but I’d not noticed the message they’d sent me via Expedia, oh well.
We waited for the rain to ease, then went out for our first taste of Cambodian food. We ate in a restaurant called TRY ME and had beef lok lak and fish amok. Both were were delicious. The fish was similar to a Thai curry, but not as hot and spicy.
Wednesday 12th October 2022
Our original plan was to buy the 3-day Angkor Wat tickets, however we found out the 1-day now gives you an extra one. So we decided to have a relaxing day around Siem Reap, and then buy the tickets after 5pm so we can see the sunset then spend 2 full days (tomorrow and Friday) exploring the temples.
We had a slow stroll from our hotel to downtown, then stopped off at My Little Cafe for lunch. We shared pork dumplings, and I had a Khmer red curry while Pete chose fried chicken and rice (his stomach was feeling very slightly upset, so laying off the spice – otherwise he’d definitely be joining me in the local food!). The curry was lovely – very mild and creamy.
We then continued our walk to Pub Street, although it was very quiet during the daytime.
We weren’t actually planning to have a drink (still a bit early), but it was on the way on our banana ice cream hunt (something we do every new place we go). The first place was closed, and the second, Gelato lab, does do the elusive flavour but had ran out. I was, however, intrigued by dark chocolate with Kampot pepper! So we gave that a go, along with salted caramel. I wouldn’t buy the chocolate again, but the salted caramel was great.
After I’ve cream, we walked along the river – very picturesque!
It was now mid-afternoon – perfect cocktail time! By coincidence, a friend of mine had recommended a cocktail bar, The Keys, so we decided to check it out.
It was a great recommendation (thanks Octavia!) – lovely drinks and a beautiful setting.
We’d originally planned to walk to the Angkor Wat ticket office, so continued on our way. One of the things that surprised me about Siem Reap was how big and and wide the roads were – in some ways reminded me of America, where you need a car to get anywhere.
We got about half way there then thought maybe a tuk tuk would be a good idea – just in case there were big queues, it might be better to get there early. So we used our trusty Grab app to get a tuk tuk.
We bought our 1-day passes, then continued in the tuk tuk to Phnom Bakheng. It was a lovely walk up the hill to the temple, and we were very lucky to be treated to a beautiful sunset at the top.
We took the tuk tuk back down to pub street, to take advantage of the $0.50 beers before dinner.
We ate at the Christa Restaurant & Bar, where I had a Khmer tamarind curry and Pete had stir fry chicken with Khmer spices – both were very tasty!
Emma and Pete’s Asian Adventure 